Went to Burnaby on Friday.

A bit of training as this was my first time on a track that was either wood or 200m.
The track felt great, the black line felt much easier to follow than the 333 in Co Springs. After a few laps of feeling the track move around under the wheels, the boards felt fine.

Racing: Well, this part was a bit more exciting. This was almost my first bit of intensity since track ended in September - while the good folk in Burnaby were doing their final race night before their 4-day.
Oof.
Three races for this not-race-fit enduro, the first two were 8-man keirins, yes, we started 8-wide on a 200m track.
I didn't win.

50-lap scratch race, I was a grumpy velociraptor by this point and felt that my options were either ride well or give my bike away at the end of the night.
Attacked 3-4 times over the course of the race, got some gaps, legs felt good, but there was (shockingly) not enough high-end to be found in my legs. Finished 4th or 5th.

So, I still own a track bike.
Excited to race up there a ton more this winter, the people running the track are great to out-of-towners, that track is FUN to race on. Our concrete 400m is likely to feel a bit shabby after a winter on the boards.

FWIW - Holy corndogs batman, laps go by FAST on 200m tracks.

Just googled for pictures. Nice velodrome!

I've been racing twice a week now since the summer track season is in full swing. Last Saturday afternoon saw the second round of the Interclub Summer Track League at the Packer Parker velodrome - due to the number of tracks in Melbourne I'd never ridden on it even though it is only around 8km from home!

It is one of the longer and flatter tracks around town at 360m long and was quite quick with a smooth coated asphalt surface. It was also rather exposed to the surprisingly blustery South Easterly wind which made the back 'straight' a slog but offered a super fast wind assisted finish.

During the first break. I'm the one in red...

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A grade comprised of riders I'd not competed against before so I really wasn't sure who to watch. First race was a straight scratch, one rider showed his hand early and attacked hard. I covered the move quickly but didn't want to keep it going as it was too early and wanted to see how strong the other riders were. About 5 laps to go he went again but as I was already shadowing him I covered it quickly with one other rider coming across. Unfortunately we weren't working well and were were about to get caught at the bell. I was on the front so upped the pace into the wind getting out of the saddle and going 200 metres to go. With the tail wind, being in front it was the place to be. I didn't look back till over the line and ended crossing first with a good gap.

During the second break.

http://i1317.photobucket.com/albums/...psb905084c.jpg

Second race was a 2 lap sprint. Due to the number of riders we ended rolling off the fence rather than be held and cruised an extra lap for a rolling start. Shadowed the same rider as he once again upped the pace sitting nicely on the outside so we wouldn't get boxed in. Final lap - back straight I pushed hard as he dropped into the sprinters lane and was able to power past him and dropped into the sprinters lane myself at around 150m to go and once again crossed first a few lengths clear.

Final race was an Elimination with one rider being called out each lap after the first neutral lap. First couple of sprints I was cruising mid bunch and not happy being there as it would be too easy to be boxed in. So after the next sprint I kept the pressure on over the line and dropped into the front position. Once again with the wind it was the place to be for the sprints and a great position to dictate the pace as no one was keen to drive around me along the back into the wind. From the front I was able to check over my shoulder as the others fought it out to avoid being eliminated. A little confusion on the bell as there were still three riders behind me; found afterwards one rider didn't hear his number get called out. Again I kept the pace steady and attacked hard around 200m to go and came across first again.

Not the strongest fields in the end, but I am really happy with how smart I was reading the conditions and opposition. A great afternoons racing!

Mid season right now so racing Tuesday night indoors and Saturday afternoons with my club outdoors...

Loading up the car to get to the race, the 35C heat had my resolve wavering and I contemplated going back inside rather than to the track... :o

Due to the heat there is only two others in A grade and therefore combined us with the three in B. First race is a scratch - most are happy to keep a constant but reasonable tempo except ex pro Tom who punches hard nearly every turn on the front! This successully drops the B graders. Sitting second wheel just before the bell I jump as hard as I can, unfortunately not hard enough to be able to pass first wheel and drop into the sprinters lane. Ended up being a drag race up into the final bend where I fortunately got my wheel in front and crossed the line first.

Second race was the masters handicap. I have a typical for me poor start and don't get across and contest the finish.

3rd race was a Teams Pursuit - we rolled solid turns and pipped the others at the finish.

Last race was a short motorpace. The pace picked up nicely till it was just Tom and me. The gear I selected was a couple of inches too short and I just lost touch of Tom and the motorbike less than 1/2 a lap before the bike was to pull off. Once he knew he had the gap and the motorbike was gone it was just a 500m effort to the line - I'm not able to make up that lost ground with Tom heading for home and finished well back!

Overall a satisfactory afternoon especially as I nearly didn't go as I really don't like the heat! I think the Scratch race may be the first track event I have beaten Tom in (did win a 20km road TT a couple of years ago with Tom second but I think he was ill that morning) so looking good for the State Masters in 3 weeks and National Masters Track champs soon after that! :)

LAVRA Time Trials in Carson, CA at Velo Sports Center.

Team Sprint - 5 of 5. I met a racer who traveled from a flyover state to race and he said he was up for team sprint and liked the position three. i found another racer for position two and I was lead out. We did not get a chance to practice. Unfortunately, the new racer chose too big of a gear and we dropped him at the start.

500 meters - 7/41. We had a good turnout for the event and I set a new PR for the 500.

OOOPPPs!
congrats on the PR!

ex? :p



or was that a couple of years ago?

R'Ex passed on track to help out some teammates at a road race. I got a note form him that he chose poorly.

If Vance and I would have dropped Ex in team sprint, we would have to put him on suicide watch.:p

Hermes: congrats on solid day, for both you and the better half. Even though you are a pursuiter, I have to think you'd put together a very competitive Team Sprint in your age category this year?

Asked for advice in the other thread about sprint tactics for an endurance rider...well here is how it went, or rather didnt go.

The sprint night was oversubscribed (close to 4 times as many as the last time it ran) and in addition to this there was performance testing beforehand which over ran by a significant margin so the race programme was condensed into 6-up events. Against the enduros it was like a mini scratch race and i did well then i only had one race against sprinters (4 sprinters, 2 enduros), i went from being badly positioned in 6th place to trying to rush things and get a better position which resulted in me ended up 2nd wheel and boxed in when the sprint opened up. So not the greatest of performances. Disappointing night not just for me but for everyone else too, we didnt sign up to do 6-up sprints! The upside is the organisers recognised their mistake with scheduling and we will get free entry the next sprint night.

Oh that's a bummer, Z. 6-up is not a match sprint, it's a keirin without the motor. And a kierin without the motor is a scratch race. :D

Are the results from the VSC TT event posted anywhere?

They should have just found a strong guy with a speedometer on his bike and made them into real keirins. A 6-up is not a sprint event. I'm sure they could have found a few of the better sprinters who were willing to alternate doing keirin leadouts. Would make a decent workout...

if Vance drops anyone they should be put on a suicide watch :)

jk @VanceMac

Still sore about getting dropped on Sepulveda Jul 25, 2007? Haha. Let it go, man!

Can't wait to ride w/ you again on the track :)

Bike build in progress!

Eventually on VSC site, but right now just on that social media site. Here you go:

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https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.n...08738456_n.jpg

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Thanks

I've reformatted the image links below:
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https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.n...08738456_n.jpg

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https://scontent-b-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/...03777214_n.jpg

https://scontent-b-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/..._1901608_n.jpg

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Funny, that's how I had it at first, but I thought you would scold me for such a large post. ;)

Thanks. I will have to work on it.

Damned if you do; Damned if you don't!

It is always better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

We had our National (Australian) Masters Track Champs last week... thought I would give a race report.

Day 1 I had my Kilo.... I was last rider off in masters 2 (35-39), having to beat 1:10.833 on a heavy track.

I ended up winning the gold with a time of 1:08.062, over 2.5 seconds faster than Silver. I was hoping to get into the 1:07's but just missed out. Still very happy to win the title! :)

Next day we had sprints. Again it was a cold morning and heavy track. This was only the second f200 I have done on an indoor board 250m track, so I am still learning the best line to take... it is completely different to riding our concrete 333m outdoor track!

Felt like I hit the line pretty well and posted 11.275... fastest qualifier for masters 1/2 (30-39) by 3 tenths. Only one rider (Gavin White) went quicker than me in any division (11.181).

I then rode all my sprint heats well, won each heat and got another gold medal! :)

My last event was the scratch/points race on day 4. Unfortunately, there were enough riders for a points race so we were given a 120 lap points race!!! Way too far for me, and I pulled out after 60 laps of punishment. Oh well, can't win them all I guess!

Complete results are here if anyone is interested:

2014 Australian Masters Track National Championships

JMR

Congrats! Well done! And those times are amazing.

Well done

Season opener at Velo Sports Center, Friday Night Racing. It's been a long winter, with only one off-season omnium, so everyone was geared up for this one. Nice fields across the board, including a sold out cat 4. The 1/2/3 field had about 15 I think and included pro Guy East. 16 lap snowball went as expected, with lesser dogs vying for early meaningless laps (that part played by me on the first two laps), which means the pace never lets up throughout. Followed by typical Miss n Out with no surprises. And finished with a 40 lap points race that was brutal. I got on the board at one of the mid-sprints, but I was pleased just to hang on at that pace (only 8 finishers).